Ed Catmull.

With Ed Catmull receiving the Gordon E. Sawyer Oscar for a lifetime of visionary CG achievement at the Sci Tech Awards on Saturday at the Beverly Wilshire, VFXWorld asked the co-founder of Pixar and president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios to talk about some of the latest advancements.

Bill Desowitz: Let's begin with your take on where we are at the moment with Pixar and Disney.

Ed Catmull: Well, it's a very exciting time. We were, of course, just thrilled at what's happening with WALL•E and the recognition and how it struck a chord with people. And, of course, while we were making it, we didn't know this was going to happen. Every film is risky but we like to take artistic risks.

BD: And what would you single out among WALL•E's many advancements?

EC: Heavy use of depth of field for artistic purposes. Getting all this right and having it look great was a challenge. And they pulled it off: it was extraordinary animation. And we feel good about the next film coming from Pixar, Up, and it's different from anything else.

Catmull cites WALL•E's heavy use of depth of field for artistic purposes as a key technological breakthrough. © Disney/PIXAR. All rights reserved.

EC: It's a different kind of look to it. WALL•E was trying for quite a realistic look in the world and Up is not trying to match reality but create something new. It looks gorgeous.

BD: The balloons alone are mesmerizing.

EC: Yes, and I presume you know that the look of Bolt is very different from what they did before.

BD: Yes, I enjoyed speaking with Hank Driskill, the technical supervisor, about the rigorous painterly approach applied to CG.

EC: A great look to it and painterly in an appropriate sense in the 3D world, and the ability to do some extraordinary animation. I thought the animation on Rhino was just phenomenal.

BD: And what has been the impact of Bolt at Disney?

EC: Bolt has dramatically altered the way the studio works... Also, I believe that the stereo involved is the best that's ever been done anywhere.

The addition of stereo 3-D to Bolt made action sequences pop. © Disney Enterprises.

BD: I thought the action-packed opening was very effective.

EC: Really the whole use throughout the film, and I've seen a lot of stereo.

BD: What struck you?

EC: Well, what they did was make stereo an artistic element of the movie, so it wasn't about throwing things in your face all of the time, and they made it fit there. They used it, they changed the depth, they made it an extension, in the same way they used depth of field with WALL•E as an artistic tool. So, for me, it's best when it doesn't draw attention to itself. Like, most people wouldn't have said, "Oh, they used a lot of depth of field in WALL•E." They wouldn't notice but would just say, "Oh, they made it look real good." And that's the way stereo should be: a good addition that doesn't get in the way of the story, but, on the other hand, gives it real depth.